A warm welcome from Cell:cm to all of our clients either current or former. With the telecoms market in such a period of turbulence and uncertainty it has never been more important for a landlord who hosts a telecoms installation to be kept informed about the market. Therefore, we have put together this newsletter to provide information to telecoms landlords on: New legislative reforms currently going through government Synopsis on two recent Lands Tribunal decisions which related to telecoms site rental valuations There is also a section at the end of the Newsletter which talks about some alternative options[...]

  Following the UK’s Government order for all telecommunications businesses to remove all Huawei equipment from the UK’s 5G networks by 2027, Nokia is set to become a major beneficiary of Huawei, which ended the business relationship dated back to 2005 between BT and Huawei. Nokia will replace the majority of the Huawei equipment in the EE network, and will now provide additional base stations and antennas, to help to evolve BT’s radio access network to 5G. The EE network already uses Nokia to provide its 3G service and the Finnish telecoms firm will also replace the Huawei equipment in[...]

  On the 27th of August 2020, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport published their vision on how local authorities can support the UK to recover from the implications of COVID-19, by unlocking greater access to land for better broadband and mobile connectivity. As a part of this vision, the Digital Infrastructure Minister and the Local Government Minister urged local authorities to follow new advice to facilitate Operators with faster installation of telecommunications equipment, in a bid to improve connectivity in the UK. Health and safety issues around 5G technology remains the biggest concern among wider stakeholders. However,[...]

  UPDATE: Huawei 5G Kit must be Removed from the UK by 2027 On Tuesday 14th July 2020, from a decision that followed a technical review by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in response to US sanctions, the UK government has ordered telecommunications businesses to remove all Huawei equipment from the UK’s 5G networks by 2027. Operators shall be required to make a transition from buying new Huawei equipment for use in the full-fibre network over the next two years. In addition to that, buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December 2020 shall be banned. A report from[...]

As the network operators endeavour to keep the nation connected during lockdown, Cell:cm continues to work with site providers to assist key workers in achieving access to sites where possible. Throughout the pandemic, Cell:cm has remained fully operational, maintaining access to approximately 4000 mobile network base stations across the UK. Upholding safe working practices, whilst maintaining consideration of the general public and key workers remains the focus of the access team at Cell:cm. This includes working with contractors and site providers to mitigate the risks associated with a transient workforce and the lack of welfare facilitates available to key workers.[...]

As the relationship between the USA and China deteriorates from a tumultuous trade war, the UK has faced pressure to review the potential security ramifications of allowing Huawei equipment to be rolled out in the UK’s 5G Network. In January, the UK government compromised by restricting Huawei from installing “sensitive parts” of the Network and limiting Huawei to a 35% share of the network’s infrastructure. Under the current agreement, the UK mobile operators would have three years to ensure Huawei’s equipment meets the above restrictions. In May, the US government introduced new sanctions against Huawei due to potential security concerns[...]

During the lockdown, Cell:cm welcomed five new members of staff, who all joined the team remotely. Companies across the world have found themselves in a similar unique situation recently – a situation that has brought with it new challenges and a requirement to adapt accordingly. Many look forward to their first day at a new company, going to a new office and a new environment, having a cup of coffee with one’s new colleagues before sitting down at one’s new desk. The first days for those joining Cell:cm have ended up looking quite different. Instead, all our new team members[...]

One of Cell:cm’s clients, AP Wireless II (UK) Limited, was recently awarded a landlord-favourable decision in the recent Upper Tribunal case of CTIL v Ashloch Limited. The Upper Tribunal found in favour of APW and struck out CTIL’s paragraph 20 application. For further information in relation to this landmark decision, please see the link to an article published by Eversheds Sutherland below as originally published in Estates Gazette: https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/global/en/what/articles/index.page?ArticleID=en/Litigation_Support/Eversheds-represent-successful-landowner-CTIL-Ashloch-Limited-AP-Wireless-II For more information on this matter or if Cell:cm may assist in relation to your site, please contact us. Contact Us

In a recent article by the Telegraph, it is suggested that the telecoms network is currently under significant pressure as a consequence of home working and other requirements for increased remote communication during the Covid-19 outbreak. Cell:cm recognise the importance of keeping mobile networks running throughout these challenging and disruptive circumstances. This is why the entire Cell:cm team is working together to ensure that requests for works of an emergency or critical nature at our clients’ telecoms sites are being completed as soon as possible, continuing to build effective relationships between network providers and site owners. For more information on[...]

In a recent article published by the Sunday Telegraph it has been outlined that the telecoms giant BT is looking towards a £1.5bn sale of their mobile mast portfolio to either help fund broadband upgrades or simply to assist with their cash flow as BT’s share price has slowly fallen since its peak in November 2015 and is currently trading at its lowest point in six years. The broadband upgrades that this funding could be for, are expected to include part of BT’s new service BT Plus. BT Plus is the UK’s first converged fibre and 4G plan which will[...]